Thursday 9 October 2014

Now is the Time -- And the Opportunity -- to Pay Attention

Maybe people should start paying a little more attention to Amanda Bynes instead of writing her off as some out-of-work nut job ... because you know damn well if the popular and well-loved Robin Williams were exhibiting this type of behavior in the weeks or even days leading up to his death, something would have been done and obvious compassion would have been shown.

Nick Cannon, long-time friend of Amanda Bynes, has spoken out (again) about supporting the troubled star, and had a lot of sense to make. Nick said, "If this was a person who was in a mental hospital, would you [make fun of her]? But just because she's someone that is a public figure, we feel like it's fun. But no, this is someone who needs help, and rightly so, she was getting help. And I'm pretty sure she'll continue to get help again. It's things you have to deal with your entire life."
He continued by relating the last time the two spoke (a few weeks ago) and reiterated how it's unfair -- and appallingly sad -- that people would find it amusing to crack jokes at the expense of someone who seems to be mentally suffering:

"She reached out to me maybe a few weeks ago via text. ... It's one of those things; that's family to me and you see those types of things happen ... It's a process. It's a condition. ... People started to make fun of her and people started to think it was entertaining to make jokes. ... My heart goes out to her -- I pray for her daily."

We're all people -- and we're all important. It's about time we recognize a cry for help for what it is and quit with the lighthearted banter of "Oh, there goes Amanda Bynes again, teehee" or "Hey, look who pulled a Britney, haha." It's simply not OK to minimize someone's obvious mental anguish because they're a person in the spotlight.